Reunion
by IlmatarT
Summary: Dealing with the Thieves Guilds of Athkatla, Jaina and her companions unexpectedly meet Edwin, with whom she travelled for several months around and in Baldur's Gate, but who mysteriously disppeared after they had finished Sarevok.


Disclaimer: Bioware owns, not me.

Author's note: Not beta-read, sorry about that. If you're going "wtf!" while reading this, check out Laufey's Edwin Romance Mod.

"By the boiling blood in my veins, I would really love to get this Mae'Var business over with," the brunette cursed under her breath when the party was approaching the guild house.

"He is indeed a disgusting man," Anomen commented. He walked beside Jaina in a strangely protective manner that at the same time amused and irritated the woman.

"Okay, here we go then," Jaina said and was about to grab the handle of the door, but Anomen hopped before her and opened the door instead.

"My lady," he said and bowed, letting Jaina go in first. The woman suppressed a laughter and went inside, Viconia, Yoshimo, Minsc and finally Anomen following her. They descended the stairs to Mae'Var's dungeon. With her heels clicking on the stone floor, Jaina walked straight up to the guildmaster with her hair flowing behind her.

"Well, it would seem you have a few skills behind your name after all. A fine bit of work, though hardly a challenge. Well, let's have the thing," the rogue in a tight pink outfit said and put down the complicated torturing device he was holding. Jaina promptly handed him the pendant she had stolen from the temple of Talos the previous night. She did so without saying a word, without blinking an eye at the whimpering, bleeding man on the torture bed.

"Ehh, kind of gaudy, isn't it? Can't see what's so compelling about it. I'll toss it in with the garbage going to Waterdeep. Lot's of dainty collectors up there," the guild master said dismissively when eh was inspecting the necklace. He put it away and then turned to face Jaina, but looking more at her shapely torso than her dark eyes.

"Now, let's put you to some real work. I haven't the time to piddle around with you, so my right hand man will keep you busy until you can work for me personally."

"Very well then," Jaina answered.

"His name is Edwin," Mae'Var said. Jaina blinked her eyes in surprise.

"Bloody good spellcaster, but he likes his luxuries. Usually happens to adventurers that hate the road."

Jaina blinked again. "Edwin, you say?"

"Yes, are you deaf?"

"And a wizard?"

"That is what I just said. Did you forget your brain under your pillow this morning?"

Jaina paused for a moment and raised her hands on her hips. Behind her Minsc and Viconia were starting to get a bad feeling about what their leader was going to do, and were pulling Anomen and Yoshimo closer to the walls.

"And where can I find him?"

"He's on the third floor above us. Get going, already," Mae'var told her, then turned away and concentrated on applying the torturing devices on his victim again.

Jaina slowly turned around on her heels. Then she took one pointed step, then another. She did not know what to think or feel, but the thoughts and feelings that mostly surfaced were angry, confused and… angry. Apparently it showed on her face, since the four others were leaning closer to the walls, making way for her.

"What is wrong?" Yoshimo asked Viconia when Jaina passed them.

"An old friend," the drow answered.

Jaina was walking quite slowly, but her steps were extremely determined, and she was clenching her hands into fists. She did not say a word, and frankly she looked like she did not even want to hear a word. The others followed her to the ground floor, then to the next staircase, through the training room and up one more staircase.

Edwin Odesseiron was on the top floor of the guild house, waiting for the "new inexperienced arrivals that needed some petty work." He heard noise from the stairs, and stood up from his chair ready to look intimidating and grand in his decorated red robes, trimmed beard and golden jewellery. The group of new arrivals entered the room, and he automatically began introducing himself in his own arrogant tone.

"Greetings. I am Edwin Odesseiron. You simians may refer to me merely as "Sir," if you prefer a less... syllable intensive workout."

Then he finally took a look at the new thieves, and involuntarily gulped.

It was Jaina. Her dark, wavy hair was free and had grown – she did not have bangs any more, but the slightly shorter hair in the front was on a side parting and went over her right eye. She still had her large golden hoop earrings, and the same brown belt with the golden buckle. She was wearing a very flattering and feminine leather outfit that drew attention to her generous breasts. Her boots were over-knee and had an inch of heel. In a nutshell, she had turned from a teenage girl to a seductive woman in a matter of half a year.

Jaina still did not say a word. She crossed her arms on her chest and took a step towards Edwin. Then another slow step. And another, until she was standing right in front of him.

"Simians?" she hissed and stared up at Edwin looking extremely dangerous. "You dare call me a simian?"

Yoshimo leaned towards Viconia and whispered very quietly, "What is going on?"

"Sexual tension. Went on for months, until he suddenly disappeared in Baldur's Gate."

"Right."

Edwin was about to open his mouth, even though he had no idea what to say.

"You give me this stupid act as if you don't know me? Here you are, in your luxurious residence on the top floor of a thieves guild house in Athkatla, pretending you don't know me, even though you were five months ago in Baldur's Gate, with me, about to be my partner in the celebration ball!" the woman's voice got louder and louder until she was yelling at Edwin at the top of her lungs.

"Lower your voice-" Edwin tried sheepishly.

"You vanished! Disappeared! I thought something had happened to you! I missed the ball, I missed the whole bloody celebration because I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU for the ENTIRE EVENING!"

"You really should lower your voice…"

"And do you have ANY IDEA of where I have spent FIVE WEEKS? No, you don't. Because you TOOK OFF! Well, I'll tell you. I was being TORTURED. For. Five. Weeks."

Edwin went pale.

"And you know what else? Imoen has been taken away along with the same man who tortured us! It has been almost a week since I lost her and I don't know where she is, and I don't know where I should start looking, and all I have is the stupid thieves guild making empty promises and…" Jaina gasped for air. Her eyes had filled with tears, and they were suddenly pouring on her cheeks. "And here you are, pretending you don't know me."

Edwin stared at Jaina looking scared and confused. The other four by the stairs were feeling extremely awkward and bad. Jaina had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown ever since she had lost Imoen, and now the burden of the deaths of Dynaheir and Khalid, yet again going through severe shouting matches with Jaheira and finally parting ways with her dear foster father's good friend just like once before in Nashkel what now felt like a lifetime ago, as well as the terrible experience of being caged like an animal and tortured endlessly, it all suddenly erupted out. Meeting Edwin Odesseiron of all people by chance was enough to tip the scale and bring Jaina crumbling down.

Some of the others – Viconia, Minsc and Edwin – had seen her cry only once before this. It had been in Candlekeep, where she had sat in Gorion's old room, on his bed, and read the letter he had written to her before they had ever even left Candlekeep in the first place – on the day of the night when he had met his end. They had all been through together a lot of pain and hardship, but until now, that had been the only time they had seen their self-proclaimed but respected leader break down. That is why it was so difficult for the others to see her cry, especially as she cried uncontrollably, so that her legs refused to carry her any more.

Edwin had to grab her arm and sit her down on a chair or she would have collapsed on the floor. Everyone was quiet, except for Jaina, who sobbed and whimpered alone, making her black eyeliner run down her cheeks. Even Minsc was in confused silence, although it was slowly dawning on him that his and his deceased witch's old enemy was in the room with them.

"Look what you did, villain!" he finally exclaimed, and pushed through the others to step forward in an accusing manner. "You have made the courageous Jaina cry! You conveniently disappeared in Baldur's Gate, before we got captured! And now Dynaheir is dead but you still live, you fiend!"

Edwin's eyebrows went up. "Dynaheir is dead?" he asked, without any signs of being intimidated by the berserker.

"And so is Khalid," Jaina sniffed quietly.

"Khalid? You were travelling with him again? And Jaheira?" Edwin asked since he did not see the druid among her companions.

"She's here. In Athkatla. There's a Harper base in the City, that's where she went. We met them in Beregost a couple of months after the celebrations in Baldur's Gate, and they suggested we explore some ruins that were... well, it doesn't matter. We had nothing to do, really, so we decided to go with them. Vicky wasn't there any more, she had gone her own way already," Jaina explained with a thick voice and wiped her face with her hands.

Edwin glanced towards the others by the stairs – and there Viconia raised her chin so that the light reached under her large hood, so he could recognize her. They had always gotten along relatively well, and truth to be told, Minsc and Edwin had learned to live with each other as well and work together in battle. Jaina was certain that Edwin and Dynaheir had began to enjoy their mutual bickering and arguing so that it had become more like a comfortable, familiar habit than anything else. Of course Jaina and Edwin had always bickered as well, but in a different sense.

"Jaina, we must not stay here!" Minsc insisted. "This is another trap, for certain!"

"Calm down, Minsc!" Jaina bellowed suddenly, so that everyone else in the room flinched and Minsc took a step back. He had travelled with Jaina long enough to respect her and her lead, and take it very seriously when she would get upset enough to shout or cry.

Jaina, with eyeliner now smudged all over her moist cheeks and around her eyes, stood back up and faced Edwin.

"Why did you leave?" she asked, sharp like a stab of a dagger.

"I had to," he answered, and did his best to quickly make up a story instead of telling the truth. "I was called away. The Red Wizards were concerned about one of them appearing with you in the ball – it was a purely political move and they decided that publicity of its kind was not desirable for the image of Thay."

Jaina narrowed her eyes. "You could have explained that to me without disappearing. Viconia explained her reasons for parting ways with me, and it was fine. We wished each other good luck and neither of us had to worry for the other. I thought you had been abducted, hurt, that perhaps some Sarevok's ally had gotten to you for revenge and was making his way through our ranks. I turned the whole castle around. I turned the whole city around."

Edwin could hardly believe that Jaina would go through such great trouble for his sake, and hearing it had him quite taken aback.

"She was intolerable for a week, for your disappearance and missing out on the celebrations that were arrange for her," Viconia said, confirming what Jaina had said as true. She spoke out in company rarely, so Edwin had to believe that what she said was true.

"Bah!" he collected himself and began to quickly cover up for the turmoil now inside of him. "I am offended for how easily you think I get in trouble! I would have thought my skills and power had been known to you by then, and that you would have trusted me to handle myself without fussing like a mother who has lost her child!"

"Guess what, you pompous pinhead! A couple of months later I was travelling with five others just as skilled in their traits as you or I are in ours respectively, and we got completely surprised and captured before we could even raise our weapons!" Jaina snapped at Edwin's face. "So I am completely justified in my worry over a member of my party!"

Edwin was opening his mouth for another retort, but Anomen's voice interrupted him.

"Excuse me – but can this be correct? You have willingly associated yourself with a known Red Wizard, who is now apparently a high ranking member of the Thieves Guild?" he asked incredulously, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Jaina rolled her eyes and sighed, and Edwin looked at Anomen, and back at Jaina.

"Who in the nine Hells is this?" the wizard asked. He had not expected to ever see her in the company of someone who appeared to be a knight, talking like a romance novel.

"That's Anomen. Oh and that guy is Yoshimo. He's cool," she introduced the ones Edwin did not already know. The wizard took one look at Yoshimo and his gear, and decided that he was certainly much more suitable to Jaina's style than the self-righteous bulk of a man. Sure he wore armour as heavy as Minsc, but Minsc at least had veritable rage and quirks enough to appeal to someone as curious as Jaina, but this Anomen fellow...

"And why is he with you?" Edwin continued.

"Yeah, I don't know," Jaina admitted sounding tired. "He's funny in a really sad way."

"Excuse me!" Anomen exclaimed, appalled to hear something like that being said of him, even though he was standing right beside them.

"He actually opens doors to me, and calls me 'my lady'," Jaina told Edwin, and it made him snicker a little.

"If you are not careful, he might recite sappy poems to you, or even give you flowers," the wizard said in vicious amusement, while Anomen was getting more and more offended.

"Eugh, I could puke," Jaina groaned.

"I have had enough! I will not stand for taunting such as this, nor your consorting with all sorts of, of, supicious types," Anomen waved his hand at everyone in general – meaning Edwin, Viconia and Yoshimo especially, as well as the whole complicated business with the Thieves Guild. "I will take my leave of you, and next time we meet I will not act as amicably as I have until now!"

"I am so disappointed," Jaina said dryly, and watched the knight storm down the stairs and leave so that the door banged shut behind him.

"Thank goodness," Yoshimo muttered sounding relieved. "He was incredibly obnoxious."

"Well, that's him dealt with," Jaina said brightly, but the perkiness was gone when she turned to Edwin again. "But what about you?"

"I will need time. I suspect Bloodscalp sent you to uncover what Maevar has been getting into behind his back," the wizard proved his intelligence.

"Can you help?"

"Do you not listen, you ape? I need time. In the mean while, I need you to ensure me peace for working."

"Eh, what now?"

"It seems my prowess as a mage as attracted the eye of the Cowled Wizards. I'm certain they are envious, though their actions are not fitting tribute. They have dispatched an agent to investigate my activities, something I don't appreciate. This insult must be punished by killing the Cowled agent."

"You're sending me on an errand?" Jaina had a hard time believing what she was hearing.

"Do you wish me to assist you or not? I need you to get rid of him. His name is Rayic Gethras. You can question him or torture him before you kill him, I do not care, as long as he is finished."

Jaina was not bothered by the task itself, but much more by Edwin making her do it. "And where can I find this Rayic then?"

"His house is the gray three-story behind a fence along the westward wall," he explained. "When you return, I hope to have news for you about your quest in return."

"Why won't you come with me? Or do the Red Wizards still oppose to our alliance?" Jaina asked tilting her head.

"I doubt it – you infiltrating the Thieves Guild is hardly public business and will not catch the eye of the Realms. My superiors have greater issues to consider than a lost little girl looking for her friend."

Jaina was starting to wonder how she could have missed Edwin's discourse, but she was quite used to it so she was able to shrug off the insults easily. "So that means that when we've dealt with Maevar, you'll be coming with me. Great! We'll go say hi from you to your new admirer," Jaina decided, but before she did anything else, she looked around for a mirror. "But first I have to check – has my eyeliner spread?"

Edwin was very good at keeping a straight face, even in front of Jaina. "Just a bit there in the corner... yes, that's it, now it's fine."

In truth the black makeup had spread all across her face and and stuck to her skin as the tears had dried, but Edwin was mischievous enough not to let her know. He could only hope the others wouldn't spoil his fun – and all of them held their tongue at least while they were in his quarters.

Edwin watched Jaina leave, and the moment she was gone, he collapsed on the chair in front of his desk. Not counting the spread make up, she looked marvellous, even if she had lost some weight. He had not expected to ever see her again, let alone have her ask him to join her again. He knew he shouldn't, that it couldn't end well, but he found himself completely incapable of refusing her.


End file.
